Street light devices are a vital component in modern society. Without such devices, streets and public areas would be dark and dangerous. Street lights, therefore, allow individuals the ability to operate when natural sunlight is not available. Public lighting systems, such as street lamps, typically rely on commercial power grids to supply the necessary energy to provide light.
Street lights using solar power panels which are known in the art are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,904 ('904 patent). The system described in the '904 patent uses solar panels and wind generators. The solar panels are described as being connected in such a manner to charge a maintenance-free storage battery with sufficient capacity to light street lights and/or traffic signals. An auxiliary generator having a wind driven vane is also described for use if sufficient sun light is not available.
While such system uses solar panels to charge a battery, they lack a capability that utilizes solar power to drive a secondary power generating source electrically coupled to a batter bank configured to drive one or more functional components.